North Sound Alliance
Dana Riley Black
Alliance Co-Director
Director of Center
for Inquiry Science
Institute for Systems Biology
1441 N. 34th St.
Seattle, WA 98103
Voice: 206-732-1394
Fax: 206-732-1394
dblack@systemsbiology.org
Kim Klinke
Alliance Co-Director
Program Manager of Center
for Inquiry Science
Institute for Systems Biology
1441 N. 34th St.
Seattle, WA 98103
Voice: 206-732-1456
Fax: 206-732-1299
kklinke@systemsbiology.org
2. Information on the Alliance
The North Sound LASER Alliance is inclusive of all regional LASER districts and welcoming to districts that are interested in learning more about LASER.
Established in 2001 with leadership from Seattle Public Schools, the North Sound LASER Alliance is coordinated by the Center for Inquiry Science at the Institute for Systems Biology. The alliance encompasses a region that includes a significant number of LASER school districts, which range in their placement along a continuum of science education renewal. Each of the districts has its unique strategic plan and has adopted a distinctive set of standards-based science curriculum. Teachers in some of the districts have already completed their 54 hours of initial use professional development (in part supported by LASER funding), while other districts are just beginning or revising renewal efforts outlined in their strategic plans.
While all regional LASER districts provide their own materials support through in-district materials centers or by leasing materials from a neighboring school district (as compared to a centralized materials center run by the Alliance), LASER funding for the Alliance is allocated to supporting a portion of the initial use professional development (professional development designed to introduce teachers to newly adopted science instructional materials) offered within the region. Moreover, LASER funding supports several regional Networks designed to promote regional collaboration in science education:
- Quarterly TOSA (Teachers on Special Assignment) Network meetings link regional TOSAs and Curriculum Specialists in discussion of emerging topics in science education
- The Regional Materials Center Network (ReMeCe-Net) link regional materals center staff in discussion of topics related to effetively running a science materials center
- An annual Networking Forum convenes teams from regional LASER school districts around topics purposed with updating science strategic plans; and
- A bi-annual Alliance Charter Update meeting provides a forum for school districts and community stakeholders to determine the focus and purpose of the regional Alliance.
Please contact the NSLA Co-Directors for a calendar of these events or general information about the Alliance.
Contact Center for Inquiry Science staff at cis@systemsbiology.org for additional information regarding the Alliance or visit the website at www.systemsbiology.org/Center_for_Inquiry_Science.
For a list of science education related events in the Puget Sound region, please visit www.systemsbiology.org/Center_for_Inquiry_Science/Course_Catalog